2023-05-06 16:51:58
The Remparts have sold the 36,000 tickets offered at the Videotron Center for the first two games of the QMJHL final in just six hours, Friday. If Patrick Roy does not say he is surprised by the enthusiasm of the supporters of Quebec, he nevertheless describes as “magical” what his team is going through this spring.
“I admire what people are doing for us right now,” said the Red Devils head coach on Saturday, after training his troop.
Roy does not remember having seen such enthusiasm for the Remparts since his debut behind the team bench, almost 20 years ago.
“The year of the Memorial Cup [en 2006], there was really a very strong energy, he underlines. But then, if I meet people in the street and they ask me if I think we’re going to win, they want to know what’s next… That’s the fun to see the reaction of the public.
Like in the NHL
When configured for a hockey game, the Videotron Center can accommodate 18,259 spectators.
This means that even before knowing the identity of the other finalist team – the Halifax Mooseheads and the Sherbrooke Phœnix were tied 2-2 in their series on Friday – the Remparts will have pulverized the old mark for a game. QMJHL playoffs.
In 1983, the Verdun Junior, which was then playing its matches at the Montreal Forum, had sold 17,860 tickets for the first game of the final against the Chevaliers de Longueuil.
“But I shouldn’t even be surprised because we’ve always had a fantastic audience and people supporting us,” added the head coach.
“It’s going to be a National League atmosphere,” points out striker Zachary Bolduc, who is obviously being asked for tickets by his relatives.
“We’ve been working for two years, getting bored, getting up and it’s fun to know that Quebec is behind us,” he smiles.
Ready to take on the challenge
And Bolduc also assures that he and his teammates are focused on giving the fans the show they deserve on Friday and Saturday night when the league final begins.
“All the boys so we are here. We are all in the same place mentally and we all want the same thing. We are ready to tackle the challenge ahead.”
▶ Injured in the second game of the series against the Gatineau Olympiques, the cornerstone of the Remparts’ defence, Nicolas Savoie, skated alone on Saturday, before the team’s practice. Charle Truchon and Thomas Darcy skipped their turn, like forward Daniel Agostino. Patrick Roy had no details to give about their state of health.
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